Themistocles (gryzor) - Athens, --, Greece (227 books)

Themistocles marked as to-read:

Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand

My rating:

Themistocles marked as to-read:

Η παλιά Αθήνα ζει, γλεντά, γεύεται 1834-1938
by Θωμάς Σιταράς

My rating:

Themistocles is currently reading:

Deus Irae
by Philip K. Dick

My rating:

Themistocles gave

to:

The Crusades: The War For The Holy Land
by Thomas Asbridge

read in February, 2012

My rating:

This is a massive and engrossing book. Very dense and not the easiest to read (there's some back-and-forth and family lines get confused) but it's a fantastic, concise read on all the crusades.

Some gripes:
-the author spends an inordinate amount of...more

Themistocles gave

to:

The Retreat: Hitler's First Defeat
by Michael Jones

read in December, 2011

My rating:

A great read. Though I've read quite a few other titles on the subject I found myself drawn to it; fascinated by all the personal accounts I kept reading page after page, often not able to put it down. Though those personal accounts are at the expens...more

Themistocles gave

to:

Money Mavericks: Confessions of a Hedge-Fund Manager
by Lars Kroijer

read in November, 2011

My rating:

Ooh, a book written by a fund manager! Even allowing for the predictable lack of 'juicy' details, this should make a very interesting book! We've got plenty of books on the matter written by journos, but an actual fund manager?

Unfortunately, this i...more

Themistocles gave

to:

Hardcoregaming101.Net Presents by Kurt Kalata

Hardcoregaming101.Net Presents: The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures
by Kurt Kalata

read in November, 2011

My rating:

This one is a mixed bag. On one hand, there's so much to read and take you back, it's guaranteed to keep you warm and happy for quite a few days. On the other hand, it's got a few glaring issues.

The good: a huge amount of games covered, lots of det...moreThis one is a mixed bag. On one hand, there's so much to read and take you back, it's guaranteed to keep you warm and happy for quite a few days. On the other hand, it's got a few glaring issues.

The good: a huge amount of games covered, lots of detail, attention and love. Can't get much better than that.

The bad:

To begin with, the book is 'typeset' in Word or something. It really shows. Now, Word may be a good processor, but a DTP package it is not. This is something I could have printed and bound myself. Also the photos are, disappointingly (but predictably, due to cost issued) in B&W only.

There's a lot (a lot!) of spelling and grammatical mistakes, a sign of the text not having been edited. Sometimes it's obvious the author changed his mind half-sentence, deleted some of it and then rewrote it without making sure it sticks with the beginning of the sentence. Stuff like that.

The interviews are very few, and gathered together towards the beginning of the book.

Coverage is uneven and raises some eyebrows. For instance, the author covers some obscure (and, probably, hated by the kids that played them back then) edutainment titles across several pages and then throws Personal Nightmare and the Elvira titles together in a single (!) page. Then he goes on to cover games up to 2011 (classics??) in his attempt to make an exhaustive guide, but truth be told, he could do with 100-150 pages less, easily. There are definitely tons of non-classic games in there, and you'll find yourself skipping page after page, after a certain point.

What's more, he seems to be nitpicking for most of the time (the Nazi guy in Indiana Jones has an overdone German accent? For god's sake, that was obviously on purpose!) about things that don't really matter when you're engrossed in a real classic and suspension of disbelief is in the works, but that's not a big deal. He also seems to get some facts a bit on the wrong side (Black Dahlia 'totally ignored'? Nah...), but overall he's doing a great job, so maybe I'm the one nitpicking now.

All in all, it's not a perfect book, but (especially since it's the only one out there) it's essential reading. And the price is right, too!(less)

Themistocles gave

to:

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
by Michael Lewis

read in October, 2011

My rating:

A well-paced, spirited account of the roots of the current economic downturn. Lewis is brutal in his presentation of what modern 'economics' and finance is based on, and you won't be bored for a single page.

Of course the subject matter is not the e...more

Themistocles gave

to:

The End: The Defiance & Destruction of Hitler's Germany 1944-45
by Ian Kershaw

read in October, 2011

My rating:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

This was a slight disappointment of a book. I'd like to give it 3.5 stars but it's not possible, and 4 would probably be too much.

The problem lies with the approach Kershaw has taken in his analysis. Let me explain:

Everyone probably knows the rea...more

Themistocles is on page 360 of The End

The End: The Defiance & Destruction of Hitler's Germany 1944-45
by Ian Kershaw

progress:

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Themistocles marked as to-read: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand	My rating:
Feb 13, 2012 07:54am
Themistocles marked as to-read: Η παλιά Αθήνα ζει, γλεντά, γεύεται 1834-1938 by Θωμάς Σιταράς	My rating:
Feb 13, 2012 07:53am
Themistocles is currently reading: Deus Irae by Philip K. Dick	My rating:
Feb 06, 2012 01:25am
Themistocles gave to: The Crusades: The War For The Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge read in February, 2012	My rating:
This is a massive and engrossing book. Very dense and not the easiest to read (there's some back-and-forth and family lines get confused) but it's a fantastic, concise read on all the crusades. Some gripes: -the author spends an inordinate amount of...more
Feb 06, 2012 01:25am · see review
Themistocles gave to: The Retreat: Hitler's First Defeat by Michael Jones read in December, 2011	My rating:
A great read. Though I've read quite a few other titles on the subject I found myself drawn to it; fascinated by all the personal accounts I kept reading page after page, often not able to put it down. Though those personal accounts are at the expens...more
Dec 06, 2011 10:01am · see review
Themistocles gave to: Money Mavericks: Confessions of a Hedge-Fund Manager by Lars Kroijer read in November, 2011	My rating:
Ooh, a book written by a fund manager! Even allowing for the predictable lack of 'juicy' details, this should make a very interesting book! We've got plenty of books on the matter written by journos, but an actual fund manager? Unfortunately, this i...more
Nov 22, 2011 02:53am · see review
Themistocles gave to: Hardcoregaming101.Net Presents: The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures by Kurt Kalata read in November, 2011	My rating:
This one is a mixed bag. On one hand, there's so much to read and take you back, it's guaranteed to keep you warm and happy for quite a few days. On the other hand, it's got a few glaring issues. The good: a huge amount of games covered, lots of det...more
Nov 16, 2011 07:52am · see review
Themistocles gave to: The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis read in October, 2011	My rating:
A well-paced, spirited account of the roots of the current economic downturn. Lewis is brutal in his presentation of what modern 'economics' and finance is based on, and you won't be bored for a single page. Of course the subject matter is not the e...more
Oct 18, 2011 11:47pm · see review
Themistocles gave to: The End: The Defiance & Destruction of Hitler's Germany 1944-45 by Ian Kershaw read in October, 2011	My rating:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Oct 06, 2011 12:22am · see review
Themistocles is on page 360 of The End The End: The Defiance & Destruction of Hitler's Germany 1944-45 by Ian Kershaw progress:	My rating:
Oct 04, 2011 04:07am · like · see status

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